Difficult
by RubyGirl12345
Summary: Oh, this wasn't a woman that he wanted to deal with. But when it was Matsumoto begging him to take off her hands an overly proud, demanding, impossibly hard to deal with woman... how could he refuse? At least it's for a short while. Would Shuuhei suffer from this decision, or would it force him to deal with his crush on Matsumoto? Perhaps discover something more? ShuuheiXOCXIkkaku
1. Rough Beginnings

Blood littered the streets. At least, that was what she saw. To any bystander, those last few humans that happened to be strolling about during these late- very late in fact,- hours, it would be gone, the pavement upon which she ran perfectly clear with no sign of the chaos that erupted so shortly before.

Not to her though. Oh no. The shinigami ran, breath hitching, her own uniform stained with the crimson that spilled from her comrades and her own injuries both. It was fresh, the metallic scent of it making her almost nauseous. Not necessarily because she feared it, found it sickening or disgusting. It was... impossible to comprehend, this thought that the partners with which she sparred, those companions who had her back for all those years in the academy, who she actually trusted...

They were all dead now.

And forward she ran, the humans that still lingered here and there ducking when the windows round them shattered, the screech of the creature after her so powerful it nearly made her lose balance. If she were any other but the impossibly stubborn bitch that she was, she would have, falling right into the awaiting jaws of that monster. But she wouldn't.

Pale eyes flickered back for only a moment and she stumbled, her foot snagging on a fallen bit of metal that was torn from place by the battle that had broken out. The woman found herself crashing to the ground, the rough texture of the road rubbing her skin raw. She winced, slowly opening her eyes before her situation dawned on her.

She whirled around, silver orbs wide in horror when she realized the gaze that was returned to her was from a spot far closer than what she believed. She stared back into those hollow black pits, the white fangs of the beast bare in wait, in preparation to tear into her flesh like it craved so badly. Her palms rose, as if in a last feeble attempt to shield herself from the upcoming attack when the thing lunged forward, another scream emitted from its throat at the ecstasy of having such a wonderful meal that night.

It was another moment before things went quiet again, the chilly air of the night still as the death that filled it.

* * *

"Team 2, is everything clear? Any survivors yet?" his fingers were clutched round the small communication device at his collar while the lieutenant advanced through the dark streets, a couple of his disciples following right behind. Getting the confirmation that things were indeed clear and no living soul was found his gaze returned forward, his eyes narrowed again, focus returning to the bloodied corpses of shinigami and several humans, the poor bastards just lucky enough to be caught by the crossfire.

It was just their luck to have gotten this mission. Normally it would be the last thing he'd agree to do, but... Captain Soifon was pretty damn scary when she was angry, and having so many of her people eliminated by some measly hollow sure got her that way. So here he was, working hard to sift through the bloodied remains, searching for a sign of life from those who somehow, miraculously survived such treatment.

From what they have seen already there was no such shinigami on the scene. The lieutenant frowned, brows furrowing to steel his already serious expression further, his palm constantly resting upon the hilt of his zanpakuto, form tense just awaiting the attack he knew would come. There was no doubt in it. The number of dead, was reported at two, the body of the last one nowhere to be found so far. Poor kid was probably torn up so bad the body simply no longer existed. The hollow that the deceased team was meant to take down however..

"Careful ya maggots. It's still around, there was no reports the hollow's been taken down yet." the words of warning that he had to share were cut off into nothingness when a scream replaced them, a wail so loud one could swear it made the earth under their feet tremble.

It took no longer than a moment for the group to follow the sound, but during that same small while the monster that had made such an inhuman sound disappeared, leaving behind no traces but the bloodied body that lay at their feet.

"Lieutenant," one of the officers spoke, crouching down next to this body as well, as he has done with the others. Though this time it was not to recognize the fallen victim, but instead to make sure of what the man believed he felt, placing a palm to hover a few inches above the bleeding form. "I-I think this one's still alive." he muttered, his eyes soon turned upward to receive order to proceed.

"Well what're ya waiting for?" Omaeda snapped, his arms crossed over his chest impatiently. Still, even as irritated as he was that one of these unlucky bastards survived, meaning nothing but more work for him, as well as more shouting from his captain in regards of his uselessness in rescuing the others as well... it was pretty curious that a new recruit like this one had lived past such injuries.

His eyes still remained on the bloody form for a second or two but eventually he stepped away, letting the member of 4th division begin his work, making sure the spark of reiatsu he'd felt wasn't extinguished before he got clearance to bring the bodies back to soul society.

* * *

It was a long and tiring night for the members of the fourth division, those unfortunate ones who were given the mission of assuring the sole shinigami that returned alive stayed that way. It was difficult for sure, the wounds suffered being quite bad indeed, many transfusions of blood and efforts put into the uphold of the life that threatened to slip from the unconscious one.

Eventually however they did get her condition to stable, enough so to finally say it was safe to step away and let the injured woman rest. And so they did, as always having others to tend to, namely those brutes of the 11th division, as they never did seem to be capable of holding back their violent tendencies. Somehow, even with the steady flow of injured shinigami returning from missions, various long term patients that needed care, the men from that particular division appeared to be their largest concern.

"So, at least she is out of danger now.." the lieutenant of the 4th, Kotetsu Isane muttered to herself, her eyes scanning the page she held for a moment or two before dismissing the exhausted staff members to return to their other duties, offering them a small smile of encouragement in thanks for their hard work before she too, retreated to finish hers.


	2. Unpleasant Duties

Toshiro sighed, rubbing his temples in some attempt to soothe his headache. It wasn't every day that he was asked by captain Soifon to handle one of her disciples while they recuperated. Apparently the recruit was 'not of any use' to her division if she were incapable of training or handling missions. In a way, he could admit putting the woman to work despite it, work that did not require physical strain that was, would be far better than allowing her to sink into boredom. Which from what he'd heard was roughly the very demand that caused this transfer in the first place, the woman refusing even the obligatory term she was to stay in the fourth division, up until it was made sure she could be released. He could imagine how unhappy she was however when said demand had her end up being pushed off onto another division, instead of returning her to work like she requested.

He let out a small irritated sigh when his door was all but thrown open, in prancing the overjoyed lieutenant of his to announce the arrival of their 'new and adorable recruit'. Matsumoto of course turned a deaf ear to his previous explanation where the shinigami would only be staying with their division for the small bit it took for her to return to training, as always, her hearing remaining very selective. Annoyingly so.

"Matsumoto..." the young captain muttered, casting the buxom woman a rather displeased glare so that she calms down a bit, although it never did work too well. "Keep in mind that this is a member of the 2nd division, and─"

"So what, she's new, I bet captain Soifon didn't get to ruin her yet!" the blond stated, making her own captain sigh in annoyance once more. Really, he should have already given up on reprimanding her seeing as she never did listen.

"What I meant was that she is not here for your entertainment, Matsumoto." if such a thing could even be found with a shinigami who was recruited to that particular branch of the seireitei. They were normally calm, precise, trained in stealth and striking in silence. Assassins, for short, nothing much but the cold blooded killers they were.

And of course, disciplined. "She is here to work." he finished, tidying up the stack of papers he was just done working on before the loud woman burst in.

Whatever words of his lieutenant were meant to follow her unhappy pout she never got to make known, as the topic of their discussion showed soon enough. Or rather, stumbled. Having not given herself the rest her body needed, the woman found it fairly difficult to move about much, the wounds hardly having any time to settle and close properly and therefore aching in protest to every step she took. But she wouldn't let it show much. She could never show pain, hell she'd rather die of it than have others take pity on her. It was the last thing she needed.

"Good morning, captain Hitsugaya, lieutenant Matsumoto." the woman greeted, bowing her head a slight. It wasn't too clear whether she'd done so for the fact that bowing was near impossible for her then, or because of disrespect. Whatever the reason was, it was overlooked either way.

"Yes, good morning." since said 2nd seat of his was too busy looking the woman over, Toshiro was the one to reply in greeting. "I assume you have been informed already on your duties for the near future...?" the boy paused, glancing up toward the woman in expectation of her name, having noted her not giving one.

"Yoru." the raven stated, returning the calm, calculating gaze that the captain was watching her with without even flinching. Admittedly, she was a bit odd, that one. It was rare for one so freshly released from the academy to face a captain, let alone with such.. nonexistent tension. "Kagayaku Yoru."

He did little more but nod, jotting a few details down to make sure the paperwork regarding this transition was dealt with before anything else. "Very well. Matsumoto, since you were not doing anything right now, would you mind escorting Kagayaku-san to her─"

"Yes captain!" the blond interjected, hardly even letting him finish before she pushed the confused girl out, leaving the young captain gritting his teeth in annoyance. It wasn't exactly unexpected, if there was anything the woman loved more than drinking, shopping or flirting it was finding new people to do all those things with. And now that this new potential was 'discovered', nothing could stop her from sinking her claws into the girl.

* * *

"Lieutenant, would you mind not doing that anymore?" the raven questioned, a hand held against her side where a wound far too fresh for her liking now ached thanks to said shoving out. They were now out of the office, yes, although the way that she were escorted there wasn't something she'd like becoming permanent. Or rather, as permanent as her stay in this division would be.

Fact was, she did not plan to stay long at all. Incapacitated she might be, these wounds indeed unpleasantly worse than she believed at first when she awoke. But would she let this stop her from returning to work, that sweet adrenaline that rushed through her system when her body was pushed to its limits? No, she'd be damned if she ever passed that up.

It was a moment before she realized that whatever this lieutenant began saying, she hadn't stopped. In fact, during that time where she was deep within her thoughts, the woman had not once stopped her chattering, so happily did she partake in that one sided conversation the topic of which was... something.

"... I'm sorry?" having missed most of it, the younger shinigami hadn't that much to reply with than a request for the woman to repeat herself.

Still, despite the unhappy pout that was shared at the realization that her companion had not been listening, Matsumoto did just that, questioning once again, slower this time to make sure the girl hadn't missed it another time. "Yoru, tell me about yourself! I mean, what you like to do, where you like to drink.. anyone you like in general." that last bit was added with a slight wiggle of the woman's eyebrows, the hint which lay 'between the lines' sickeningly obvious.

Oh, she did not like those kinds of people, the nosy ones who always needed to be in everyone's business. Still, she was to be her lieutenant for a small while. The least the raven could do was give in to such questioning. Not to mention ignore the unpleasant familiarity with which she was spoken to, the usual honorifics dropped.

"There isn't that much to tell, honestly." not much that she could, at least. Not only was her past something she'd rather forget, but also there simply wasn't so much she were allowed to share, considering which division it was she joined and where she planned to go from there. To a member of the Omnitsukido it would only be a detriment, to have connections to others. Spilling her heart to them and becoming weak by those bonds. It was out of the question, as far as she was concerned.

"I haven't been here so long." not that she did plan to take many tours of the seireitei. Especially not with the goal of finding places as the ones which the buxom woman spoke of. "Nor do I tend to drink. As for my personal hobbies..." well, other than training, fighting, those simply did not exist. The raven said nothing further than that, letting her voice trail off for a moment. "I don't find the company of others particularly pleasing to tell the truth. This counts for the 'liking' part as well." she didn't really see herself being tied down to any man in the future, if such an impossible fool even existed to try for her. She'd not stop before reaching the post she had wanted, the head of the Omnitsukido. Just as captain Soifon was strong, just as she did not have anyone else to count on in battle, only winning for her own strength and experience. That is the way she wanted to be. She didn't need to trust anyone, or depend on others to manage it.

"Oh don't be like that!" was she real? She would've thought she were clear enough. And yet, it seemed the woman still missed her disinterest in the entire dating experience. "I'm sure you'll find someone here you to your liking." she grinned, clasping her palms together with a look that only meant trouble. As in, the trouble she'd be when trying to find the raven such a partner... the poor unfortunate soul, hell, she already felt bad for whatever man the lieutenant picked for such a task.

"How about you go drinking with me and a few friends? Hm? What do you say? It's never bad to meet a few new people." she offered, a wide smile still playing at her full lips. Figures, that a woman this gorgeous and sociable would see the best part in life as the company of others... as well as all the perks that went along with said company. She likely used her gift of beauty fully to her benefit, playing men as fools to do her bidding. Admittedly, if she herself had any patience for such useless things, 'Yoru' herself would make use of such a perk. Still..

"I don't drink." the raven reminded, her tone rather dry at the fact the statement she'd made before was overlooked.

Matsumoto huffed, puffing out her cheeks with a tad of annoyance. "Oh come on. Are all 2nd division recruits so boring?"

"I wouldn't know. Having not been there long enough to find out." nor hardly interested enough in the people surrounding her. As disappointing as it was, it was hardly a few short months from her recruitment from the academy before their small team.. the very few people she actually opened up to.. were sent out to their first mission in the real world.

"Ah well, it really is a shame. We could have had so much fun~" the blond woman purred, snickering to herself in a suspicious manner. If she'd dare guessing, it was likely something to do with forcibly dragging her out to one of those meetings of theirs. Nothing she wanted to partake in at all, personally. Social gatherings were such a waste of time, precious time which could honestly be spent better. For example, training her strength.. she'd not allow herself to lose in such a manner ever again. This time already took from her more than she was willing to give.

Either way, it would probably be best for her not to keep her focus on such silly things as what the lieutenant was trying to have her attend, for too long. If anything should be the point of her focus in fact, it should better be restoring her body to the state it had to be in order to return to her own division as quickly as was possible.

Having decided this, the ravenette returned her attention back from her thoughts just in time to catch the cheerful woman by her side introducing her to the living quarters of their division, for once something she wouldn't object to so badly. The walk from the tenth division to her own room back in the second was rather long, not something she could do daily with her injuries. "Thank you." focusing her eyes on the woman she gave a small nod of her head as means of thanks before sliding open the paper door to glance inside.

It wasn't much at all, the generic room that any officer was given when joined the division. Still, to someone who was used to the poor sleeping quarters she was forced to share back in Rukongai, this was quite the treat, the wooden floors clean and polished, a small window that allowed a look at the outside world, even a closet that lay hidden behind another set of sliding doors, where she assumed her bed would be folded, sheets fresh and crispy with the hint of soap lingering behind from the last wash.

"You have quite the living conditions here, lieutenant Matsumoto-san." the smaller female muttered, nearly cautious in her stepping into the room, as to not break anything. "You'd not needed to do this." an unseated officer from another division, it was odd seeing them treat her so well. Then again, perhaps it was that favor that her own captain asked from that of the 10th.

"Nonsense." the other waved it off, a pleased smile stretched across her features at the surprise of her 'new' disciple. If she knew no better, she'd say the woman looked so proud of herself it would be as if she built and furnished the place with her own two hands! "Make yourself comfortable Yoru-chan-" it was a wonder how she missed the displeased narrowing of eyes that occurred at the cute honorific, and yet, she did, continuing her speech while stepping back to leave the injured girl to her own devices. "Come back to the office when you're done, I'm going to make sure that captain Hitsugaya doesn't give you a job too boring. He always does, working everyone too hard and then he goes and wonders why we never have any fun—" whatever the continuation of that sentence was, 'Yoru' heard nothing of it as the woman kept on complaining to herself while she slowly retreated back to said captain's office. Or so she presumed.

_'Good job, Layla.'_ the raven sighed to herself, a palm reaching upward to run through her wavy black locks, letting some of her stress unwind with the small bit of air that escaped her parted lips. She closed her eyes, letting her mind wander for a tad, sinking into the quiet of the place. _'Way to allow yourself get pushed into a division that hardly handles combat. I'd rather train against those reckless brutes from the 11th than die of boredom doing paperwork..'_

Then again, it was better than remaining in the 4th division. Not to mention, if being enough a pain in the ass got her out of said hospital, then her stubbornness would definitely be enough to have her out of there in no time as well.

Speaking of the fourth division.. there was plenty of work ahead of her yet. So she set to it, slowly peeling off her shihakusho, the bloodied bandages that needed replacement, and getting to the tedious work of redoing her own wounds. Never would she ask one of the fourth division members to do it, even if they would gladly. She didn't need the help of anyone.

* * *

****"Lieutenant Matsumoto-san," it was a small while before she had returned to the office of the captain, making sure to knock at the door before entering, letting those inside know of her return. "Sorry to disturb you." the raven muttered once given a permission to step inside, finding only the small silver haired captain there with no actual trace of the woman she'd called out to.

"It's fine Kagayaku-san." the young one assured, looking up from the work he was handling to regard the other. "Matsumoto is... away." he paused, resisting the urge to sigh in aggravation at the memory of the woman bounding off to one of her usual 'errands', from what he understood something having to do with the 3rd division's lieutenant. Somehow he did withhold that sigh though, turning his attention back to the raven.

"Would you mind returning these papers to the twelfth division? I would also need you to handle the reports from the officers returning from the real world." having finished signing off on the rather large stack, he tidied it up before holding it up for her to take, icy eyes once again locked on her. "Can you handle it?"

Nodding in affirmation, the shinigami took the unwelcoming pile into her hands, departing from the office again once agreeing that she will return when done to receive further instruction. Or not, if she were lucky. She had better things to waste her day away doing than distributing papers, which, judging from the rather large pile she now held, would indeed take a while.

* * *

**Author's Comment:**

Alright so I know it's a little... uncomfortable that I'm currently using a false name for her. Her true name is, in fact, Layla. If anyone's interested in a better physical description of her in the next chapter let me know.

The reason I'm doing that is mostly her character, the trust issues she has. It does have a point in the future, I'll give you guys that much. Oh and I will gladly accept corrections in regard to the canon characters and their personalities... I may be stretching them around a bit here and there and I do want to be as close to canon as possible :P


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